Equity futures rise towards the final trading week of 2022
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), November 29, 2022.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
U.S. stock futures rose on Monday night as investors enter the final trading days of 2022, assessing whether a Santa Claus rally will emerge and lift a market that has been weighed down by recession fears.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 1[ads1]34 points, or 0.4%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.57% and 0.75%, respectively.
During the regular session on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 176 points higher, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 rose 0.6 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2 percent.
Friday marked the start of the time period for a Santa Claus rally, which is usually considered the last five-day trading stretch of the current year, as well as the first two trading days of the new year. The markets were closed on Monday due to the Christmas holiday.
Due to low trading volumes, investors expect either relative quiet or further volatility during the shortened holiday week. Markets close a month and a year defined by a rise in fears of recession.
In December, the S&P 500 fell about 5.8%, while the Dow and Nasdaq fell about 4% and 8.5%, respectively. These are the biggest monthly declines since September. The major averages are headed for their worst annual performance since 2008.
“[The] The question of what kind of recession remains unanswered,” wrote Quincy Krosby, global chief strategist at LPL Financial, on Friday. “And for this, the answer is primarily dictated by how much more the Fed needs to raise interest rates to finally tackle sticky inflation.”
On the economic front, traders expect the latest data on November wholesale inventories and October S&P/Case-Shiller home prices Tuesday before the clock.
